Statement of the Workers Communist Party of France: No to the Trivialization of French Military Interventions

This is the first time that Macron, as head of state, has decided to fire missiles in Syria, in close collaboration with Trump and Teresa May. He thus joins the leaders of this troika who allows himself to spread fire, war and devastation, wherever US imperialism decides.

It was Trump who, on April 13, gave the signal for the attack with a hundred missiles, after making incoherent remarks and being “reframed” by the Secretary of Defense. For T. May, “there was no other alternative”: this is what she had already said when accusing Russia of having carried out “an act of chemical warfare” by poisoning a former spy Russian, agent of the British. As for Macron, he continues the war policy of Hollande who decided to engage the French army alongside the US coalition in 2014. But he wants to emphasize his “difference”; since the “red line of chemical bombing” had been crossed by the Syrian regime, France would retaliate through a military action targeting it. A way to differentiate himself from Hollande who had brandished the same threat but had to give up, following the decision of Obama to postpone bombing Syrian forces.

Since then, the situation in Syria has changed a lot, in favor of the Syrian regime supported by Russia, Iran, and others. The Assad regime has regained military control of part of the country (already occupied by the US, Turkey and Israel, in the Golan), notably the Damascus region, with the takeover of the Ghouta, after a bloody siege. It was during this siege that a bombardment with chlorine and other chemical agents, attributed to the Assad regime, was brandished by Trump, May and Macron, as “proof” and pretext for firing from their missiles.

There is no proof, there will not be any, and in any case this does not justify the bombing.

Always presented as “surgical strikes” that would not cause any civilian casualties, these bombings are an attack against the Syrian regime, but above all a “message” addressed to Russia.

This is the meaning of the statements of Minister F. Parly who said: “We do not seek confrontation and we refuse any logic of military escalation. That is why, together with our allies, we have made sure that the Russians are warned in advance.”

Do not trivialize the military interventions of French imperialism

Macron is strengthening his ties with US imperialism, whose current representative, Trump, combines the politics of provocation and destabilization with a reinforcement of his military capabilities for war.

Macron claims to be among those who decide for others, at the international level, relying on an army that intervenes in Africa and the Middle East. To this he devotes more and more financial, material and human resources. A missile costs, according to Le Drian, 800,000 euros and one hour of a plane, 40,000!

He thinks he can rely on a “national unity” around this policy, to try to deflect the social anger that is strengthening.

From this we draw two conclusions:

We must strengthen the fronts of contestation against his anti-workers and anti-popular policies; we must help the railway workers to win their fight against the calling into question of their status, for the defense of public services. We must support the other fronts of resistance, whether in the private or the public service, in health care, universities, etc.

We must raise the denunciation of the policy of war, the militarization of society. We must step up the demand for the withdrawal of France from NATO and the withdrawal of French military bases around the world.